The fatal incident involving a falling bearing pad from the Dhaka Metro Rail, which claimed one life, was caused by a design flaw and substandard quality of the pad, according to Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, Adviser to the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges.
The adviser also stated that the investigation committee found no evidence of sabotage.
The adviser made these remarks during a press conference at the ministry on Thursday, January 1, while presenting the findings of the probe into the recent Metro Rail bearing pad incident that resulted in a death. Earlier, committee members submitted the investigation report to the adviser.
Fouzul said that preliminary tests indicated the displaced bearing pad did not meet standards in terms of hardness, compression set, and neoprene content.
However, further laboratory testing abroad is required for confirmation.
Additionally, the bearing pad had been installed with a slight slope of 0.8% per cent. This is thought to have contributed to its displacement.
Noting that curved alignments are present at both ends of Farmgate Metro Rail station, the adviser explained that no transition curve appears to have been used between the straight section of the viaduct and the curved section.
The committee's probe suggests a potential design flaw in this alignment of the Metro Rail.
Separate modelling and analysis were not conducted for the curved alignment; instead, the design relied on modelling and analysis from the straight alignment.
Fouzul added that vibration measurements taken by the committee during train operations revealed significantly higher vibrations at the piers (Pier 430 and Pier 433) associated with the displaced bearing pads compared to other piers.
Due to possible design flaws in the curved alignment, excessive lateral forces and related vibrations are occurring in this section, which are believed to be linked to the bearing pad displacement.
He noted that, although neoprene rubber mass-spring damper systems were installed beneath the rail track in the curved alignment and nearby stations, rigid tracks were used instead of the damper system at the intermediate site of the incident.
It is believed that employing the mass-spring damper system in these locations could have reduced vibrations. However, the committee found no link between the incident and any sabotage.
Outlining the committee's recommendations, Fouzul Kabir Khan said urgent technical measures must be implemented to prevent bearing pad movement in relevant sections of the curved alignment to avoid future accidents.
These measures are already being carried out by the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL).
To ascertain the exact cause of the bearing pad displacement, a detailed analysis of the viaduct's structural and track design should be conducted by an independent third-party consultant.
A third-party safety audit of the overall Metro Rail project design also needs to be arranged.
The recommendations further call for the rapid establishment of an effective structural health monitoring system for ongoing surveillance.
Above all, efforts should be made to build the capacity of Metro Rail authorities and ensure knowledge transfer from foreign consultants to local experts.
Present at the press conference alongside the committee head, Dr ABM Toufiq Hasan, Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, MIST, were Lieutenant Colonel Md Zahidul Islam, Professor of Civil Engineering at BUET Dr Khan Mahmud Amanat, and others.
For context, on October 26, 2025, at around 12:20 pm, pedestrian Abul Kalam was killed instantly when a Metro Rail bearing pad fell on him at Farmgate in the capital. Eyewitnesses reported that the victim was walking on the pavement when the bearing pad suddenly fell from above, striking his head. An investigation committee was formed on the day of the incident, led by Bridges Division Secretary Mohammad Abdur Rouf.